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1. Box Canyon Boulders
Wisconsin
> South
> Governor Dodge SP
> Cox Hollow
Description
While Box Canyon does not have the quanity that other areas in the park have, it does offer several of the alpha classics to be found. The largest boulder in this grouping contains in all rights the most recognizable classic at Governor Dodge, The Godfather. The first known ascent of this overhanging line of sidepull pockets and laybacks was done in the late 80's by Dave Groth.
When Dave first told me about this spot he said that he had cleaned and done six lines on The Godfather boulder. Then in the early 90's Eric Zschiesche and John "The Verm" Sherman came to the park specifically to climb on The Godfather boulder as part of their Stone Crusade Tour, which led to the creation of John's book by the same name. This book focused on some of the best known bouldering areas in the United States and offered some colorful history. I think it would be fair to say that the classics here had been done thirty years ago.
The area sports about half a dozen good lines and a handful of other less inspiring lines. Unless you flash all the highballs this area has enough to keep you occupied for half a day or so. The good side of the The Godfather boulder gets decent afternoon sun in late fall/early winter.
Getting There
From the front office take a right and head towards Cox Hollow lake. There will be a windy section in the road skirted by praries that eventually drops down into the hollow. At the base of the hill are two parking areas, one on either side of the main road. Park in the left one signed Box Canyon. You can see the boulders from this parking area.
The easiest hike to godfather is to exit the box canyon parking lot and turn right, walk up the road for around 120ft until just before Seein' Elle Boulder on your right. There is a footpath that will take you to Seein' Elle and Godfather without needing to hack through much under brush.
[Hide Photo] Schema of Cox Hollow/Box Canyon Boulders. My memory may be off, please correct where imperfect. "Not for navigational purposes".
[Hide Photo] The top of the cliff just let go. This is how most of Governor Dodge's boulders were born.
Portland, OR
Madison, WI
Obviously, no one knows if every boulder has settled into it's final position, or if more is going to come down - let us know if you see or hear stuff moving. I have one friend who had back surgery after a boulder rolled over her (in Yosemite), and is simply lucky to be alive. I don't think this is hugely dangerous, but heads up, eh?
The soil/sand in here is really churned up. If you find yourself tempted to smooth out a landing, keep in mind that this is a "non-designated use area", and it should never look landscaped. This is not to say you can't improve a landing, just that when a non-climber looks at it, it should look as natural as possible (building a flagstone landing would be too much). Apr 2, 2023